spook

/spuːk/
verb
  1. To frighten or scare someone or something.
    • Don't spook the cat by shouting; it will hide under the bed.
    • The dark forest spooked the campers, so they stayed close together.
    • The sudden noise spooked the horse, and it ran off.
  2. To become frightened or alarmed easily.
    • She spooks whenever she hears a loud noise at night.
    • The deer spooked at the sound of a twig snapping.
    • The birds spooked and flew away when the dog ran toward them.
Antonyms
noun
  1. A ghost or a frightening spirit.
    • The old house is said to be haunted by a spook that appears at midnight.
    • Children told stories about a spook that lived in the abandoned barn.
    • He thought he saw a spook in the dark hallway, but it was just a coat.
  2. A spy or secret agent.
    • In the movie, the spook escapes with classified documents.
    • The journalist suspected her neighbor was a spook for a foreign country.
    • The novel is about a spook who works for a secret government agency.
What does "spook" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean